Young vs Old

Fueled by 30 points from the ageless LeBron James, the LA Lakers routed New Orleans, 133-89, on Thursday to book a title showdown with upstart Indiana in the inaugural NBA in-season tournament.

James, who will celebrate his 39th birthday on Dec. 30, was ruthlessly efficient, connecting on nine-of-12 attempts from the floor, including four-for-four from three-point range. He piled up his 30 points, with five rebounds and eight assists, in less than 23 minutes on the floor.

He sat out the entire fourth quarter as both teams pulled their starters. The Lakers had taken full control, out-scoring the shell-shocked Pelicans, 43-17, in the third period.

The first semifinal of the new tournament was an altogether different affair, with Tyrese Haliburton scoring 27 points to propel the Pacers to a 128-119 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in a game that featured 16 lead changes—seven of them in the fourth quarter.

Haliburton added 15 assists, without a turnover, and Myles Turner scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Indiana, sixth in the Eastern Conference regular-season standings, had knocked out the East-leading Boston Celtics in the quarterfinals and followed up with another scintillating showing against the 2021 NBA champion Bucks, who were led by 37 points and 10 rebounds from two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Coming out partyThe tournament has been a coming-out party for Haliburton and the Pacers, who came into Thursday’s game averaging more than 128 points per game but whose NBA title hopes have been largely discounted.

“I think this was the whole point of the in-season tournament, to see a young group like ourselves compete and come out here and fight,” Haliburton said. “I think we’re shocking the world right now. Nobody expected us to be here except for the guys in the locker room.”

Still December

The in-season tournament, conceived to add excitement to the early stages of the long NBA season, has proved the perfect showcase for the high-octane Pacers, who have never won an NBA title.

“We’re in an inaugural championship game,” Haliburton said. “That’s going to go down in history. It’s a lot of fun for us. But we didn’t just come here to play one game, play in two games, compete.

“We came here to win.”

For the Lakers, whose 17 NBA titles are tied for the most in history with the Boston Celtics, it’s a chance to get in on the ground floor of the new competition.

But James, a four-time NBA champion, said the Lakers won’t let it distract from the longterm goal of capping his 21st NBA season with another title come June.

“Listen, it’s still December, so I’m not getting too crazy about the whole thing,” James said. “I understand this thing has been great, the in-season tournament, but it’s still December.

“But it is another game for us to get better and we want to try to win the game because we’re a team that wants to get better every single game we go out there, every quarter, every possession.”

Anthony Davis added 16 points and 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves had 17 points. —AFP